The Clouds Parted - Out Came The Sun!!!

In case you missed Part 1 or Part 2, read those first....or not.....

I could not believe my luck. Stupid flat tire! Are you serious? If you looked up the definition of 'frustrated' in the dictionary at that moment, you would see my picture.

So, I found the lock to my spare tire and the jack in my car. My dad jacked the car up and started to take the lug nuts off. But.he.couldn't.get.them.to.budge!!!! Are you serious?

He pushed on them until the lug nut wrench looked like it was about to break in half. He couldn't use the one from his truck because it was too big. So, then my dad got frustrated....and maybe a little tiny bit mad. See, this same thing had happened when my mom's tire on her van went flat.

So, I handed him the phone and he made a friendly little call to Dobb's Tire and Auto Center. We both knew it wouldn't do any good. But you see, I'm a lot like my Dad. The way we tick is that we must let people know what we think....whether it changes anything or not...the offender will know. Although, he is usually much nicer than I am. So, here's how it went down:

Dobb's guy answers the phone.
Dad: Hi. My daughter bought tires from your store and was in there recently to get them balanced and rotated. She now has a flat tire and I can't get the lug nuts to come off...they are too tight.
(I can't here DG's response.)
Dad: Well, let me tell you something. This is isn't the first time this has happened. The same thing happened to my wife's van. Luckily I was able to drive that to your store. Your guy there admitted to having the setting too tight on your impact wrench. So, now you've done it again. Does this happen to everyone or are you just picking on me?
(Again, can't here DG's response....probably a lie or something lame.)
Dad: Well, what am I supposed to do about this? Obviously, I can't drive this in like this to get it fixed.
DG: (this is what my dad told me said): Well, you can call a tow truck.
Dad: Yeah, and it would cost me about $200 to have it towed to you wouldn't it? Are you gonna pay for it?
DG: (basically no) We could maybe work out something to help you out.
Dad: No, I don't think I'm going to be out anymore money because of you. (Basically, we will never buy tires from you again). I'll bring a different wrench here tomorrow and will get this off. Then I'm bringing it to you to fix it and we'll talk then. What is your name again?
(I don't remember what DG said to this, but he should have made up a name. I would have.)

The funniest part about this is that after my Dad got off the phone, I told him that Dobb's probably wasn't the place that did this. Ooops! I had taken it to the dealer for a recall on the ball joints and so they are probably the ones that got the lugs nuts too tight. But, in my frustrated, hot, tired mind I felt Dobb's deserved it anyway.

So, I got in my Dad's truck with him and we went back to their house.

I now had a super hot house I couldn't bear to stay in and a car I couldn't drive. Frustrated.

But, the next day folks, the next day was better. I drove my Mom's van to work, which left her stuck at home with Zander (Thanks, Mom....and sorry). I called the heating and cooling company that my parent's had used in the past and they said they could get a repairman to my house that day. The repairman called me at work at 3:30 to let me know he was on his way. So, I left work to meet him there.

When I got home, he was there waiting on me. As I walked past my Jeep, I noticed the "Tire Fairy" had already been there and changed my tire!!!! YAAAYYY!!!!

The repairman got to work. Actually, the AC ran fine, just wouldn't cool anything. I had just replaced the filter which was DIRTY. He added 2lbs of Freon....which I'm told is a lot....and replaced some little caps on the unit - mine were either missing or cracked and he said it might cause the Freon to escape more quickly. Within no time, I felt the house cooling a little bit. It had rained that morning, so it was no longer sweltering humid heat like we had had the previous couple of days.

So, his diagnosis is that my AC would live. It was just in need of some maintenance and just couldn't take anymore after the heat we had been under.

I went back to my parent's house and gathered my brood. I was so glad to get back home and back to a normal routine. Maybe the cats were too....no one puked or pooped in the crate!!! YAAYYY!

The next morning when I woke up it was sooo COLD in the house I had to turn up the AC! Wooo Hoooo!

I still have to get my tire fixed. My Dad said I could probably go another 10,000 on these tires because there is still tread left. I will be getting it fixed at Dobb's, because they have to do it for free. But I will NOT be buying anymore tires from them. My tires were worn after 30,000 and they were guaranteed to 60,000 miles. I actually found the paperwork for them. But, the guy on the phone intimated to my dad they would to weigh out certain factors, like if I had come in often enough to get them rotated and balanced, before they would honor it. People and companies like this piss me off royally. My money and my time are too important to me to mess with low life companies like this. In these hard economic times, companies are going to have to REDISCOVER what customer service is. For now, I'll take my money elsewhere!

I'm planning on having the AC guy come back in the Spring before it gets too - just to give my AC a once over to make sure its ready for the summer heat. Maybe then I can avoid going through moving everyone back and forth again.

I know I made these last few posts seem overly dramatic. It was frustrating as I've said...but nothing in comparison to what others face every day. I know that - I read your blogs...I see the news. I was displaced momentarily while others can lose everything all at once, or go through losses that can never be regained. So, that is what I kept in mind as I went through this. Its just an air conditioner. My family had some place cool to go. It was just a tire. All of these things could be fixed. My family is still healthy and we still have a home. While I got another lesson in patience, I know I am still truly blessed.

Thanks for reading about all my frustration. Now, I'd like to incorporate into all of this that after those crazy few days...I think I deserve to win the iPod Nano that is being given away over at SITS. Don't you think I should win? So, go check them out....but don't leave a comment about the Nano....because frankly, I don't want you as competition. And if Heather, the lady that has won the last 2 weeks in a row, wins again this week....you will still be seeing my picture in the dictionary under 'frustrated'.....